


The Present Moment

by oblivionbarnes



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Endgame Fix-It, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 05:58:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18614545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oblivionbarnes/pseuds/oblivionbarnes
Summary: (Endgame spoilers!)Steve stays in the present, knowing that going to the past to change his and Peggy’s lives would never truly fix the emptiness inside of him. Only the present can.





	The Present Moment

**Author's Note:**

> I know I’m not the only one unhappy about Steve’s ending. He deserved it. But that doesn’t mean it should’ve happened.  
> I like Steggy, but I just can’t help but feel that it reduced Peggy to some fantasy of Steve’s he couldn’t let go. And she’s more than that.  
> So here’s my take on an ending. Obviously it wouldn’t happen, but I need some way to cope with what happened in Endgame. Short, but sweet.

“Five…Four…Three…Two…One.”

With a click of Bruce’s machinery, a flash of light momentarily blinded Bucky’s eyes. And then it stopped. He blinked, then looked up to see the man he admired back to where he was standing.

Bucky gave him a smile, and Steve did the same. “Brought all the stones back to where they needed to be,” he said.

“So you didn’t get distracted along the way?” asked Bucky, and Steve shook his head as his quantum suit came off. He was wearing a rather 70s-looking army uniform underneath.

“Why would I do that? Someone has to be here to watch over you two,” Steve pointed at Sam and Bucky.

“Not even for your girl?” Sam raised an eyebrow, and Steve sighed. “No,” he said rather somberly. “I learned to move on a while ago. She can live out her happy ending, and I can live mine separately here. And I don’t want to enter some altered timeline where you,” he pointed to Bucky, “never get saved.”

“Actually, you’d still exist in your timeline. There would just be two of you, so Bucky would be fine,” Bruce interrupted. Steve shook his head, stepping down towards the others.

“I don’t get time travel, alright? All I know is, I want to stay here. I’m not going to change the past in an attempt to make myself feel proud. I promised I’d be with you, Buck. It doesn’t end here.”

Bucky met Steve’s gaze and Steve went in to hug him. Bucky hugged cheerfully back, tears brimming in his eyes.  
Pulling back, Steve faced Sam and nodded towards a bench by the water. “Sam, Talk with me for a second.”

Sam and Steve walked off to sit, and Bucky remained with Bruce. The man’s new appearance certainly took some… getting used to, but Bucky could deal with it. It wasn’t long ago that he interacted with a talking raccoon, anyways.  
“What’s happening now?” Bucky asked him, and Bruce shrugged. 

“We wait until we’re needed again, I guess.”

“Are you staying like that?”

Bruce exhaled, “Well, it works out for me. And ever since… Nat… I don’t know if changing will be safe. I’m just going to give it time.”

Bucky nodded. He hadn’t quite known Nat, though he knew how important she was to everyone. He felt bad, wishing he could’ve gotten to known her, since she was a dear friend to all the Avengers. 

“What are you going to do now?” Bruce asked back.

Bucky shrugged. “Probably just hang around fighting bad guys with Steve.”

“You sure?” Bruce asked, and Bucky gave him a confused look. Bruce pointed to where Steve and Sam were sitting, and Sam was holding Steve’s shield.

Bucky smiled again, watching as Sam admired the shield in disbelief. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

As Sam and Steve finished talking, Steve walked back over to Bucky and Bruce. “Now, I need to talk to you,” he said to Bucky.

“Do I get the costume?” Bucky joked, and Steve let out a small laugh.

“No, but I have something better.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, and Steve suddenly took his hand. Bucky, a little startled by it, began to go red. “What—“

“Let’s go away somewhere,” Steve said. “You and I. Somewhere where we don’t need to worry about fighting, aliens, or any of this futuristic bullshit. Somewhere where we can take a break.”

“Steve, what—“ Bucky started, but was interrupted when Steve crashed his lips into Bucky’s.

Bucky wasn’t sure how to react. Sure, he had these feelings for Steve that had been suppressed ever since they were living together in that apartment in Brooklyn. He knew since he was seventeen that he was in love with Steve, but since that time he also knew that they could never be together.

He closed his eyes, finding all those feelings he forced down coming back up again. Bucky never felt this free in his life, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for the future he never even thought could happen. 

As Steve pulled away, Bucky found it hard to comprehend what had just happened. “Have you—“

“I love you, Bucky Barnes,” Steve said, eyes locked with Bucky’s. “Always have, just never fully realized it till I got you back.”

“Oh, so that’s— Oh, this makes sense,” Sam said from beside Bruce, trying to hide his smile. Bruce pulled Sam away a bit, wanting to give the two their privacy.

“I love you too, Steve Rogers,” Bucky beamed back, ignoring Sam and Bruce. “And I’ll stick with you, no matter what happens.”

“Till the end of the line?”

“Till the end of the line,” repeated Bucky. Steve dragged him back into another kiss, and Bucky felt his body go free again. He knew that their endeavor with Thanos was over, and that Steve was done with being Captain America now. But as Bucky kissed back, he knew Steve had more plans for their future. And Bucky would follow Steve, wherever fate would take them. Till the end of the line.


End file.
